3350 persons await resettlement in Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 August 2003, 19:18 GMT]Around 3350 people from 920 displaced families have been staying in thirteen refugee and welfare camps in the Trincomalee district awaiting
resettlement in their own villages, said the North East Community
Restoration Development (NECORD) Deputy Project Director, Mr.N.Puhendran,
addressing a gathering at the opening of a new building at Mahavelipura Vidiyalaya in Kantalai, Trincomalee district, Tuesday.

The Asian Development Bank-funded NECORD has constructed the new building at a cost of about 1.5 million rupees at the Mahavelipura Sinhala Vidiyalaya in the Kantalai education zone.

Mr.Puhendran further said that NECORD has undertaken three projects to resettle IDPs in the Trincomalee district at a cost of five million rupees. According to him, Tamil IDPs in Kinniya village, Sinhalese IDPs at Vilgam village and Muslims at Pudavaikaddu, north of Trincomalee district, would be resettled.

He said that NECORD has been working with commitment to implement the
Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation program formulated by
the Sri Lankan Prime Minister's secretariat to achieve peace.

NECORD Trincomalee District Deputy Director, Mr. R.Umakanthan, said that, of the 76
projects selected for implementation in the Trincomalee district, 35 projects are now under implementation. Of the 35, five projects have been completed. School buildings for two Tamil schools and two for Muslim schools have been opened. The Mahavelipura Vidiyalayam is the first Sinhala School that benefited under the NECORD project in the Trincomalee district, sources said.

The Kantalai Zonal Director of Education, Mr. Herath Kulasooriya, was the chief
guest at the event. School Principal Mr.P.H. Gamini Bandara presided. At the
commencement, Mr.Puhendran and Kantalai Zonal Director of Education, Mr.Herath Kulasooriya, declared open the new building and unveiled the plaque, sources said.

Students awaiting the opening of the new school building.

School band was in attendance at the opening of new building

NECORD Deputy Project Director Mr.Puhendran and Kantalai Zonal Director of Education Mr.Herat Kulasooriya unveil the plaque of the new building.